a list

1. I'm making beef stew for dinner tonight and it smells really, really, good.

2.  It's snowing right now.

3.  I hope the weatherman is wrong and we get 10 inches of snow.  I love snow.

4. Why is it when men get a cold it is always so much worse than the cold their wife gave to them?

5.  I'm tired today.

6.  I think it's because I woke up at 3:30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep until 4:30.  During that time I managed to go to the bathroom 5 times and pee on myself once.

7.  My son named our male horse "Girl".  We let him.  In fact, we just call him Girl ourselves.  It's easier than trying to fix that mess.  He's for sale anyway.

8.  The horse, not my son.

9.  At my last Dr.'s visit, my OB politely said I may want to "watch out for the bad carbs" that I may be eating.  It could be because I've already gained 28 pounds and I'm only 26 weeks pregnant.  My OB is way too nice to tell me I'm getting too fat.

10.  What exactly is a "bad carb"?  Is cheese a bad carb?  If it is, I'm not going to "watch out" for it.  I'm going to eat it.

11.  I really need to clean my kitchen floor, but there are Thomas the Train tracks all over it.  I should probably take them down and clean the floor, but then I'd have to put them back together, and that's too much trouble right now.  Oh, what to do?

12.  I think I'm going to take a nap.



strawberry butter

Our couple's group met last night at our friends the Burnettes' house, and the menu theme was "breakfast for supper."  Yummy.  I love breakfast, anytime of day.  I was asked to bring bread (biscuits, croissants, etc.) which is great, but what is good breakfast bread without something yummy to spread on it?

Our family has a special fondness for strawberry butter.  There is a great place to eat not too far away from Murray State called Patti's, where they serve strawberry butter to spread on this warm, yummy bread baked in flower pots.  It is unbelievable.  It will change your life.  Check out Patti's if you're ever in west KY.  The daddy bird and I shared a few dates there back in the good old days.

I found this recipe in my well used copy of the Cotton Country Collection, a cookbook put out by the Junior League of Monroe, LA in 1972.  I made a couple of changes, and this is what I ended up with:

You will need:

1 pint of fresh strawberries (washed and hulled) or 10 oz frozen, thawed and drained

(I usually use frozen)

1/2 lb unsalted butter

1 cup powdered sugar; if using frozen berries use 1/2 cup

Make sure all ingredients are at WARM ROOM TEMPERATURE!  This is crucial to your success.

Beat all ingredients together with an electric mixer, starting at medium speed and increasing to high speed, until combined and fluffy.

If your mixture looks curdled, keep blending, it takes quite a while to get everything combined well, especially if the butter or strawberries are cool at all.  The ingredients must be at room temp to combine well.

Chill, and serve with biscuits, rolls, muffins, toast, waffles, pancakes, pretzels, or just eat it straight out of the bowl, ha!

Makes 2 1/2 cups

This may be just as good with margerine.  I usually use butter when I cook, but I could see margerine being substituted here with great results.

Enjoy it ya'll!

thankful thursday

I am so thankful that when it's snowing and cold out, I don't have to haul hay,

feed hay (most of the time),

and especially break the ice in the water trough.  I've litarally only had to do this like, three times this winter - that's a record for sure.

And that makes me really, really thankful.

before and after

Happy 2011 everyone! 

I've been gone a long time!  The holidays kept us really busy and I just didn't make blogging a priority.  That will hopefully change with the addition of this little beauty to our nest:

WOOHOOO!!!  Josh and I are now the proud parents of a Canon Rebel T2i, and we are loving it.  I'm hoping it will encourage me to post more pics for you, my blog buddies, and also to take more photos of the baby bird.

Ok.  Down to business.  I have a terrible secret to share with you.  (Cue dramatic music here...)  My pantry and linen closet are a MESS!!!! 

By nature, I'm just not a very organized person, but I think I'm nesting.  Maybe it's just that it's January and I'm wanting to get our house organized for the new year, but I think it probably has more to do with the little bun I've got in my oven.

Whatever the reason, I had to get this:

and this (yes, that is nair, and gas ex you may notice):

under control.  It was driving me crazy.  I may not be organized by nature, but I cannot function for long in a mess where I don't even realize I have 3 exra deoderants, and I can't find my self-rising conrmeal.  So, I took a couple of days and those before pictures became this:

I realize this does not appear to be that much better on this blog, but let me tell you folks, it is a HUGE difference!  I purged a ton of stuff, found stuff I didn't know I had, and just feel so much better knowing my stuff has a place.

How have you been inspired to get organized lately?  Do you have any organizing tips to share?

Here's another before I want to share with you:

We have finally started the process of finishing our basement!!!  Yay!  I can't tell you how excited I am to see actual walls go up downstairs, and to be picking out things like tile for the bathroom, vanities, tubs, flooring, etc.  We're a LONG way from the "after" shots, but I wanted to get up the before.  We (I use the term "we" loosely here) are doing most of the work ourselves, so I'm going to be asking for lots of advice and help.  I can't wait to document this process!







SNOW, a yummy recipe, and the best mom in law in the world!

It's snowing!!  Is it wierd that I'm really not fond of winter, or cold, but I really love the snow?  There's nothing like snow to put you in the Christmas spirit.  Here are some pics from last year, because I didn't feel like getting outside this morning:



The horses love the snow as long as it's not too wet.  Then it just makes them cold - like me.

Since it's cold out, and snowy, here's a recipe for Tuscan Pork Chops that will warm you up!  It's not soup, but it's so, so yummy.  I foud it on Tasty Kitchen which has really become my go-to recipe site of late.  Excuse my poor photos.  This is weeknight dinner people!

I know this doesn't look like much, but let me tell you - it's really great.

Here's the recipe courtesy of sliceofsouthern on tasty kitchen:

• 4 whole Boneless Pork Chops - About 1" Thick
• ⅓ cups Flour
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ¼ teaspoons Coarse Black Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• ¼ cups Balsamic Vinegar
• ⅓ cups Chicken Broth, Low-Sodium
• 14 ounces, weight Diced Tomatoes (drained)
• 6 ounces, weight Mushrooms, Sliced

Place flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish, dredge pork chops in flour mixture.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet . Cook pork chops over medium-high heat 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove chops from skillet to a side dish, you will add these back later.

Add garlic to skillet, and saute 1 minute. Add vinegar and broth, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet. Add tomatoes and mushrooms. Bring to a boil and cook at a rolling boil for 2-3 minutes.

Return pork chops and any juices to skillet. Turn your heat down to medium. Baste chops with sauce and simmer about 5 minutes until pork is done.

Serve pork chops topped with tomatoes, mushrooms, and sauce.

Note: Would be great with 1 cup chopped zucchini added. Adjust cooking time to accomodate the vegetable.

I served ours with parmesan cheese grits (just make grits according to package directions but mix in a generous handful of parmesan cheese and a dash of garlic powder when they are finished cooking) and some roasted asparagus.  Do ya'll roast asparagus?  Snap the ends off and throw it on a sheet pan and drizzle it with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake at 425 degrees for 6-10 min or until tender.  You'll never want to eat it any other way!

Speaking of dinner - tonight is date night for me and the hubs.  Josh's parents took the baby bird to Nashville for the weekend!  WHAT?!?!?!  An adults only weekend?  Wow.  I think we're going to do a little dinner and a movie tonight.  Hey, we've got 4 wheel drive.  A little snow won't bother us.

To top it off, do you know what my precious mom in law sent me via Josh?  I'll give you a hint:

Do you know what See's Candy is?  That wonderful chocolaty goodness from California?  Oh my word.

This is the best chocolate you will ever eat.  This is heaven for a pregnant woman.  This takes me back to my childhood when my Uncle Army from CA would send us a 2 LB box of the stuff for Christmas!

Notice there are a few pieces missing.  I tore into the stuff as soon as I saw it, and I also say without shame that I enjoyed a piece 2 pieces with my coffee this morning.

I love you Wanda, and not just for the chocolate!

Happy weekend everyone!

italian sausage soup

So, I've really been craving soup lately!  I think it's partially the cooler fall weather, but it's also because I've been seeing so many yummy soup recipes that I want to try them all!  This one isn't really a new recipe, but it's one I really love.  I found it in an old American Quarter Horse Journal years ago, and it's been a keeper.  Plus, it's easy which is always a bonus.

Here's the recipe:

Brown together:

1 lb sweet italian sausage

1 cup chopped onion

1 chopped garlic clove (a large one)

Drain any extra grease that cooks off the sausage.

Add:

5 cups beef broth

1/2 cup red wine

2 cans italian stewed tomatoes

1 cup sliced carrots

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

Add:

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

8 oz (or more) tortellini

Cook until the tortellini are done.  Serve with warm, crusty bread!

You could probably substitute the wine with more beef broth, but it really adds a great flavor to the soup, and any alcohol cooks off.

I love this soup!  Make it this weekend  -you'll love it too!

I'll leave you with a photo of my little cowboy from Halloween.  Happy Friday!

busy...

Sorry for my blogging hiatus!  In my absence I've been:

Helping launch a church.  More on this to come, but all I can say is - wow!

Vacationing in Disney World!  That's right folks, a trip to Disney with a 2 year old baby bird.   Definitely some pics to come.

Trying to get some sewing projects finished.  Whew.

Attending the World Equestrian Games!  What a GREAT day for me and the hubby.

Growing a baby in my belly.  I guess I haven't mentioned that yet, have I?  Just 11 weeks along now.

What have you been busy with lately?